As a business owner in Memphis and as Chairman of The Leadership Academy, I am personally committed to our city’s future and success, and I’m very excited that Memphis City Schools were awarded $90 million from the Gates Foundation. These funds should allow MCS to hire and retain excellent teachers. Good teachers are the number one factor in student achievement. Having enough good teachers should transform the district into one of the best-performing in the nation. More than anything, MCS’s ability to keep high-quality teachers in the classroom will determine how much and how well students in our community learn.
With Memphis City Schools responsible for the education of over 100,000 of our city’s children (1/12th of the entire MSA’s population), the system’s success is tied to the region’s as a whole. As the economy globalizes, fewer and fewer factory and blue collar jobs are available to young people entering the job market. Our schools now have to make preparing students for the knowledge economy their number one priority. Excellence in math, science and reading and proficient test scores will be key. For Memphis, success in the global economy means not only graduating those 100,000 students, but graduating them college-ready.
Better education is a win-win for Memphis. Our students win because they get the excellent education they deserve. Our city wins because we boost our supply homegrown supply of workers equipped to keep Memphis economically competitive in the global economy.
Let’s support Memphis City Schools, the good teachers and principals who are already there, and the many more who will be joining their ranks thanks to the Gates Foundation.
Duncan Williams is President and CEO of the rapidly-growing and well-respected investment banking firm, Duncan-Williams, Inc. Under his leadership, Duncan-Williams, Inc. has expanded far beyond its strong regional footprint. The Memphis, TN-based firm now operates branches in Houston, Charlotte, Chicago, New Jersey, New York, Seattle, and Jackson, MS. and employs more than 100 brokers.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by MemphisConnect, Leadership Academy. Leadership Academy said: Duncan Williams, our awesome 2009 Chair, guest posts on @MemphisConnect about Gates Foundation MCS grant: http://bit.ly/89lZAK [...]
You’re right Duncan – this is good news for the city and for our region as a whole.
This is a case where the private sector worked perfectly–government(raising taxes) is not always the best way to fund programs. Thanks Gates Foundation.